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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
LITIGATION RELEASE No. 15268 / February 27, 1997
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION v. MICHAEL ANTHONY PIERCE, ET
AL. (United States District Court for the District of
Massachusetts, Civil Action No. C-96-10600-RCL)
The Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission")
announced today that, on February 21, 1997, a Final Judgment of
Permanent Injunction and Other Relief ("Final Judgment") was
entered against Michael Anthony Pierce ("Pierce"), of Worcester,
Massachusetts, by United States District Judge Reginald C.
Lindsey, District of Massachusetts. The Final Judgment
permanently enjoins Pierce from violations of various antifraud
provisions of the federal securities laws. Pierce consented to
the entry of the Final Judgment without admitting or denying any
of the substantive charges against him.
As detailed in its complaint, which was filed on March 21,
1996, the Commission charged Pierce, a registered investment
advisor, with converting and dissipating over $1.7 million
entrusted to him by twenty-three of his investment advisory
clients and securities brokerage customers for investment in
securities. The Commission has further alleged that, to conceal
his scheme, Pierce generated and sent to the defrauded investors
false account statements and other false documents. The
Commission alleged that the scheme commenced no later than
January 1990 and continued until at least December 1995. Also
charged in the scheme was Pierce's associate, Jocelyn Jane
O'Rourke of Worcester, Massachusetts, against whom the litigation
is still pending.
The Final Judgment permanently enjoins Pierce from
violations of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933,
Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule
10b-5 thereunder and Sections 206 (1) and (2) of the Investment
Advisers Act of 1940. The Final Judgment does not require Pierce
to disgorge his illegal gains in light of a restitution order
entered against him in a criminal action based on substantially
the same facts alleged by the Commission. The Final Judgment
also does not require Pierce to pay a civil monetary penalty on
the basis of his demonstrated financial inability to pay. Pierce
presently is serving a fifty seven month prison term arising from
his plea of guilty to twenty counts of mail fraud and other
charges in the related criminal proceeding. Pierce's sentence
also included an order requiring him to pay restitution of
approximately $2.25 million.
See prior Litigation Release Nos. 14855 (March 25, 1996),
14869 (April 10, 1996), and 14889 (April 24, 1996).